Monday, September 21, 2009

Kreidler on health-insurance reform: "We cannot afford to fail again"

Every day, desperate people seek help from my office.One woman lost her job and health coverage, only to discover her husband needed a critical operation. Another couple, both 62, struggle to pay $1,400 a month. And a retired couple is trying to help their uninsured son — a heart-transplant recipient — pay $2,000 a month for medication.Good, affordable health insurance eludes more and more of us. Many people are only one accident or serious illness away from bankruptcy. And even many of those with good coverage know it may not be there tomorrow. Across the country, this anxiety hangs over workers' and families' heads.I had a front-row seat during the last major attempt at reform. Sixteen years ago, I was a congressman on a key House health subcommittee. We failed then. We cannot afford to fail again.